- Thursday, February 27, 2025
S Iswaran was arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on July 11.
By: India Weekly Staff
Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday (2) barred the country’s Indian-origin transport minister S Iswaran from duty and slashed his salary after he was arrested last month in relation to a corruption probe.
Lee was speaking in the parliament on a recent spate of scandals that has rocked Singapore, a country otherwise known for its corruption-free and stable politics.
He spoke on the ongoing corruption probe involving 61-year-old Iswaran and the resignations of two members of parliament (MPs), former speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and Cheng Li Hui, over their extramarital affair.
Iswaran’s pay was cut to $6,300 per month until further notice, Lee said.
According to the Public Service Division, as of 2023, the benchmark level of a minister’s monthly salary stands at $41,000, working out to an annual salary of $820,000.
Iswaran was arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on July 11.
He is out on bail and has been placed on a leave of absence.
The CPIB’s probe into Iswaran also involves billionaire Ong Beng Seng, the man widely credited with bringing Formula-1 racing to Singapore.
“Given that such incidents involving ministers are rare, there is no rule or precedent on how to effect an interdiction on a political office holder,” Lee said in the parliament.
“The specific details in minister Iswaran’s case follow generally how the civil service would deal with a senior officer in a similar situation.
“But this was my decision as prime minister because the political contexts for a minister and a civil servant being investigated and interdicted are different” he was quoted as saying by Channel News Asia.
Briefly running through the facts of the case, Lee said that while investigating a “separate matter”, the CPIB came across some information concerning Iswaran that “merited investigation”.
Lee was briefed on the findings by the director of the CPIB on July 5.
“He told me that CPIB would need to interview Minister Iswaran to take the investigation further, and sought my concurrence to open a formal investigation,” said Lee, who gave his concurrence the next day. Iswaran was brought in by CPIB on July 11, and subsequently released on bail.
Lee said that CPIB investigations are still ongoing and that he is unable to provide more details on the case, so as not to prejudice the investigations in any way.
“I ask members of this House and the public to refrain from speculation and conjecture. We must allow CPIB to do its work, to investigate the matter fully, thoroughly and independently,” he said.
When the investigation is completed, CPIB will submit its findings to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, which will decide what to do, he added.
(PTI)
